The man’s thoughts were easy enough to read, Sarah thought. He’d stayed away from her, but his hands had been stuffed into his pockets, as though he must keep them in line, away from the woman before him. The memory of his lips touching hers, of his hand brushing the skin of her cheek, was clear in her mind. And so, for long seconds she wondered how his arms would feel, strong against her, circling her waist, drawing her against his long, dark-clad body.
The book she held lay now in her lap and she looked down at it, tracing the gold letters on its cover with one fingertip. “Have you read this?” she asked.
She thought his answer was reluctant. “No, not yet.” And then he admitted to a lack in himself she would not have believed, had another person stated it as fact. “I don’t read well,” he said. “In fact, up until a couple of years ago, I was without any reading skills at all. A friend helped me, and I can handle whatever comes along in my job, and even some of the newspaper. But I’m afraid that Dickens is still out of my class.”
“He’s not difficult to understand,” she said. “I’d be happy to help you, if you like. Or else I could read to you and you’d have a chance to enjoy some of his work that way. Stephen loves to have me—” She halted her words in midthought and blushed.
Very becomingly, Brace thought. “I’d like to hear you read, Sarah,” he said. “When you sit down with Stephen, if I’m here, I’d like to listen in.” Her smile of response made him bold. “And if you feel up to the challenge, I’d like to sit at the kitchen table with you during the evenings and have you work on my—”
“I’d be pleased to help you, Brace.”
Well, he thought, smiling as he looked down to where she sat, he’d come a long way. From “Sheriff” to “Brace” was quite a step for one day. “And I’d appreciate the effort on your part,” he told her.
“Aunt Sarah?” Stephen’s voice echoed through the hallway, and Sarah leaped from the window seat.
“I’m here,” she called out. “In the library, Stephen.” And then in a softer tone, “Are you all right?”
He skidded to a halt before the warmly lit room, and his eyes sought her out. “What’cha doin’?” he asked, and then stepped forward, almost hurling himself into her arms. “The kittens were hungry, Aunt Sarah, and their mama was busy washing them, so I shut the door of the shed and came inside. I woulda fed the tabby cat, but I didn’t know what the sheriff wanted her to have.”
“There’s food for her in the kitchen,” Brace offered. “We can wait till morning, or else I’ll go out and leave a dish of milk for her tonight.”
“I think she’s hungry,” Stephen said. “Washing all those babies is hard work.”
“It won’t be long before they can wash themselves,” Sarah said wisely. “But for now their mother is happy to do it. I do think she could use a dish of milk, though.” Her eyes cut to Brace, and he understood the silent query.
“Let’s go, Stephen. I’ll pour the milk and you can offer it to her. I’ll bet she likes you better than me, anyway.”
Stephen shook his head. “Naw. She just likes it because I was petting her and talking to her. She’s still your cat.” He reached for Brace’s hand, and his small fingers clutched at the longer, more capable digits he touched. “Come on, sir. I’ll help you with her. She’s not afraid of me.”
Brace smiled at the boy, relishing the feel of small fingers pressed against his palm. Children were trusting little souls. Too bad this one had found abuse in such unexpected places. Stephen should have been safe, secure in his father’s love. Instead he’d been used as a pawn by a man whose selfish passions had driven him to draw Sarah into his reach. He looked at her now, noting the possessive look, the loving tenderness in her eyes as she watched the boy. She was a staunch champion, this Sarah Murphy.
The house was settled down, the candles blown out, the lamps darkened. Brace stretched out in his bed, pulling the sheet from the bottom to better accommodate his length, and yawned widely as he considered the woman who slept across the hallway.
She’d escorted Stephen to the storage room he’d chosen, had carefully inspected the bits and pieces of Brace’s own childhood that had so caught Stephen’s interest, and then had settled on the side of the narrow bed to listen while the boy squeezed his eyes shut and folded his hands.
A long litany of words and phrases had followed, a petition to the Almighty, a bedtime prayer that seemed to be a regular item in Stephen’s life. But, for probably the first time, a new name was added to the list the boy recited as he named his family, one by one calling their names.
“And bless the sheriff,” he’d said solemnly. “Thank you for this nice room and the nice house he lives in, and for the food he let us eat for supper.”
Brace remembered the small, scrunched-up face, the smile that had been blinding in its brilliance as blue eyes opened and Stephen looked up at his aunt. “I think that’s everybody,” he’d said, and then reached his arms to hug her and lifted himself from the pillow to plant a loud kiss against her cheek. Sarah had blown out the candle and headed for the door before Stephen called out, his words not for Sarah, but for the man who watched from the hallway.
“Good night, sir.”
“Good night, Stephen.” He thought now he’d give a whole lot to claim the child as his own. It would be a pleasure to listen to the boy, to watch him at play and to know that he was a permanent fixture in his life. He should have married before this, perhaps had a child of his own to love and protect. And yet, as he’d told Sarah, there hadn’t been anyone, except for Faith Hudson. And she’d gone where her heart led her. He could not fault her for it, but his chest tightened a bit as he thought of the woman he’d loved.
Now another woman had come along. And if he was half as smart as his mama had always said he was, he’d snatch her up and make her a permanent part of his life. And how would Miss Sarah Murphy feel about that? His mouth twitched as he thought of her, remembering her trim figure, her long hair finally let loose at bedtime, when she’d bent low over Stephen, allowing its length to surround her face and then fall to her bosom as she sat up on the edge of the bed.
He’d give a whole lot to haul her into his own bed right now, he decided. But that wasn’t the route Sarah would be willing to take. Perhaps he could woo her, win her over gradually. And on that thought he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds coming from the room across the hall, where the object of his meandering thoughts was settling in for the night.
The door was quietly opened, and then the candle was extinguished as he heard her bedsprings give way beneath her slight weight. “Good night, Sarah,” he called softly, and was pleased by her answering words.
“Good night, Brace.” Then after a moment’s silence, her whispered words filtered through the dark. “Thank you.”
A week passed uneventfully. The days took on a rhythm of their own. Sarah cooked breakfast early and called Brace and Stephen when it was ready. Reluctantly Brace took his leave shortly after he’d finished the meal, heading for the middle of town and the office he kept there. It was a worry, leaving Sarah alone in the big house, but there was no help for it. He couldn’t very well take her to work with him, and there’d be talk aplenty if he stayed home with her. Besides, there was Stephen to consider. Brace’s first task was to drop the boy off at the small schoolhouse at the edge of town.
The boy was under strict orders to remain inside until Brace arrived to pick him up later in the day. It made a shorter workday for Brace, but he knew instinctively that there would be no complaint from the townspeople. They’d gotten their money’s worth from him, and he could pretty well do as he pleased.
What he was pleased to do, he found, was to go home to Sarah. She was usually wrapped in a large apron, working in his kitchen when he arrived. Flushed and bright eyed, she seemed happy to see him, and those short minutes of greeting and her hurried instructions to make himself ready for supper began his evenings on a high note.
They sat in the library so
me evenings, Sarah reading aloud to Stephen, with Brace an eager listener. Other nights, once Stephen was in bed, they sat at the kitchen table and Sarah patiently tutored Brace with some of the simpler books he owned. The reading was coming easier these days, he realized.
“Why didn’t you learn to read in school?” Sarah asked gently as she shifted the current book to lay it in front of him. Folding her hands before her on the table, she watched him from eyes that were warm and soft in the lamplight.
“I just couldn’t seem to put the letters together. The teacher in our school was impatient with me. Told me I was just lazy. But there was never another child who wanted to read for himself more than I did. I felt left out and lonely. My sister read everything in sight, and my mother simply shook her head at my stumbling efforts.”
“How cruel.” Sarah, it seemed, was not partial to Brace’s mother at this moment. “I can’t imagine not getting help of some kind for a child with a special need.” She eyed him thoughtfully. “It’s strange that none of your other skills were affected. You’re eloquent and present a picture of intelligence. No one would ever guess that you have a problem of any sort.”
“I don’t tell folks,” he said shortly. “Just one other person knows. Except for Jamie, my deputy, and he only suspects. I ask him to read the posters for me and the mail that comes in. But I can handle most of it.”
“It’s not shameful, you know.” Sarah’s voice was stern and Brace looked up at her, for a moment ignoring the words on the page before him.
“Maybe not,” he said. “But I felt ashamed. My whole life was tainted by it. Until I met a woman, Faith Hudson, and she began to tutor me.”
“Were you in love with her?” Sarah asked quietly with a wistful note in her voice.
“I could have been. But she was married and ended up going back east to her husband.” He reached out one big hand to Sarah, clasping her fingers in his. “To tell the truth, Sarah, I’m almost glad she’s gone. I’ve just begun to realize that she wasn’t the woman for me.”
Sarah was quiet, her eyes scanning his face, then her gaze dropped to where their hands were joined in an easy grip. “I’m not either, Brace,” she said in a low whisper.
“No?” He lifted her hand and bent forward, his mouth touching the soft skin on the backs of her fingers. “I’m beginning to think differently.”
“I have too many problems,” Sarah told him. “Along with Stephen, I have a brother-in-law who’s out for my skin. And he won’t care who he has to get rid of in order to make me pay for taking his son.”
“He’ll never touch you,” Brace vowed. “That’s why you’re here, Sarah. I want you safe. Don’t you believe I’ll take care of you and Stephen?”
She nodded. “I believe that’s your plan. But things don’t always work out the way we want them to.”
“Well, I’ve got a couple of ideas up my sleeve,” Brace said. “I’m about ready to make you an offer, Sarah. I hope you’ll think it over before you give me an answer.”
“An offer?” She paled at his words and snatched her hand from his grasp. “Don’t ask me to marry you, Brace. I won’t let you take on my mess.”
“Ah, but the deal is, I’ll get you as my wife. Right now I can’t think of anything I’d like better. And believe me, I’ve thought of little else since you moved in here.”
“I’ve been thinking about taking Stephen somewhere else,” she admitted. “I don’t want the people here to start talking about you. If I’m the cause of you losing your job, I’d never forgive myself.”
“Well, then. There’s a simple solution, sweetheart. Just say the word, and I’ll have the minister stop by and bring his book of prayers with him.”
“You make it sound so easy,” she said with a grimace. “There’s more to it than that, Brace. You need to think of the days and years ahead, when you’re stuck with a wife you hadn’t planned on. What if you change your mind?”
“I’m not impulsive, usually,” he said. “But I knew when I saw you that first night that you were the most appealing woman I’d laid eyes on in a month of Sundays. And your being here has reinforced my opinion. I want you, Sarah. Not just in my bed, although that’s a part of it. I want you to live in my house and take care of me and make me feel like a man with roots—a family, and a woman who cares about him.”
“I’m here now,” she told him. “I’m taking care of you and I care about you. You don’t have to offer marriage.”
He shot her a glance that made her cheeks burn. His gaze fell to rest on the soft curves of her breasts and dwelt there for a long minute. “In order to have you where I want you, I have to offer marriage, Sarah. I won’t have you in my bed any other way.”
“In your bed.” She pressed her lips together firmly, then looked down at the tabletop. “I don’t think I’ll sever be very good at that part of marriage,” she said. “From what Sierra told me, it sounds like a nasty business, and a woman is at a disadvantage.”
Brace laughed, a soft chuckle that made her look up at him. “I don’t know what sort of marriage your sister had,” he said, “but any man who puts his wife at a disadvantage is not much of a man at all. As to the ‘nasty business’ part, I’ll be happy to show you otherwise, once we get a ring on your finger.”
He reached for her again, rising and lifting her from her chair. His arms encircled her and he held her firmly against his body, aware that his arousal had to be evident to her. She might as well get used to it, he figured. It wasn’t going to ease up until he had his way, and she was persuaded to do as he asked.
Sarah leaned into him, as if she sought his warmth and strength, and he tucked her neatly to his length, then lifted her chin, the better to see her face. “I’m not going to tell you I love you yet,” he said with obvious honesty. “But I sure do like you, and I’ve got a hankering for you that won’t leave me alone. I think I could spend my whole life with you and never regret my choice.”
He bent his head and his lips were gentle against hers. And then, as if a fire had come to life between them, he held her closer and his mouth opened a bit, his tongue begging entry. She allowed his foray, silent and almost unmoving as he set about a tentative survey of her mouth. She was unused to such love play. He was certain of it, recognizing that her trust in him was her sole reason for allowing his exploration.
His kiss softened and he transferred his attention to her cheek, then her temple and forehead, leaving a trail of kisses that she appeared to welcome. Eyes closed, she stood in his arms, and her breath was rapid against his face. Her breasts rose and fell quickly and he relished the feel of her shapely form against his chest. One hand found its way into her hair, and somehow he managed to undo the twisted coil she had formed on the back of her head sometime today. He pulled several pins free, and the long length of waves fell down her back.
“My hair.” Her voice was a mere whisper as she jerked in his arms. “You’ve taken down my hair.”
“Yeah, I surely did,” he told her, holding her a few inches from him, the better to see her. His fingers made inroads into the thick, dark mass, and against his skin it felt like the finest silk. “I’ve been wanting to see it like this ever since I met you. It was loose that night, too.”
“I couldn’t find my pins,” she said. “Once I got here, I located them in my saddlebags.”
“And you’ve kept it in a damn knot ever since,” he told her. “Hair like this should be seen.”
“It’s not seemly,” she told him. “A lady wears her hair up in public.”
“Well, this lady is going to wear it down when she’s with her husband,” he stated firmly. “You’re too pretty to look like an old maid.”
“I am an old maid.”
“Not quite,” Brace said. “You aren’t old enough, to begin with, and I’ll warrant there’s been more than one man chasin’ after you.”
She blushed again and dropped her gaze. He tugged her closer and held her captive before him. His hands slid the length of her back, t
hen returned to where her curls and waves fell to her waist. He gripped her hair in both hands and used it as a lever, pulling her head back enough for him to seek out her mouth again.
With a muffled sigh she lifted her arms and encircled his neck, leaning into his strength and relaxing her body, allowing her softness to blend with his muscled form. She fitted herself against him then, and he felt a rush of desire that caught him broadside.
Sarah might be inexperienced and was no doubt a virgin, but she had a natural sensuality that caused his blood to rush to the appropriate places in his body, and he found himself more than ready to carry her up the stairs to his bed.
As if she knew his mind, she stepped back, folding her arms around her waist. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Sheriff,” she said firmly. “I’m going to bed. Alone. And I’m going to try real hard to forget all this ever happened.”
Yet half an hour later as she lay in her bed, Sarah was conscious of a strange heat that possessed her as she recalled his smile and the tilt of his head as he’d released her from his hold.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to forget it so easily, Miss Sarah,” he’d said.
And he was right. For the first time in her life she began to understand why a woman might find marriage attractive. Why a man might appeal to the baser instincts that a woman usually kept under lock and key. Heaven knew, she hadn’t protested when he’d kissed her. Or hugged her and pressed her against his body. Quite the opposite, in fact.
She felt a shiver of delight as she thought of his big hands on her, and wondered for a forbidden minute how those same hands would feel against her skin. Not her hands or face, but the skin hidden by her clothing. An image of his long fingers against her breast made her sit upright in bed, and she groaned. She was becoming a wanton, and it was all his fault.
Tomorrow—tomorrow she’d turn over a new leaf. She’d be aloof and keep their relationship purely friendly. She’d give him no encouragement in his pursuit of her. Lying back down, her head on her pillow, she sighed. It sounded like a difficult assignment. For right now she could think of nothing she’d like better than to feel Brace Caulfield’s arms around her again.
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